Every play has a villain — a character that’s so horrid you just want to yell terrible things.

But when coughing is frowned upon and unwrapping lozenges can get you ostracized from social circles, no one would dare speak out in a theater.

In Poway and Julian, however, where old-fashioned melodramas are set to be staged in the next few weeks, yelling isn’t just encouraged, it’s practically required.

“Without the audience’s help, the plays will be a fizzle,” said Bobbi ﻿Green, the director of Julian’s melodrama. “We want everyone to boo the villain, cheer for the hero and say ‘aww’ when something happens to the heroine.”

Unlike traditional plays, melodramas are simple, over-the-top tales that were popular in the late 1800s. There’s always a villain, a damsel in distress and a brave hero who ultimately conquers an evil plan. Along with the play, the productions often feature additional entertainers like joke tellers, cancan dancers, kitchen bands and other vaudeville-inspired acts.

The first show, “Because Their Hearts Were Pure; or, The Secret of the Mine,” opens Friday at PowPAC Community Theatre, which celebrates its 10th melodrama season.

The play follows coal mining heirs Goodwin Dalrymple and Melody Truelove, who get foreclosed on by evil banker Sebastian Hardacre. It’s a plot that inspires plenty of audience hissing, booing and cheering — especially with outrageous events like missing babies and memory loss.

In Julian, the town is getting ready for its 55th annual melodrama, “Felony Most Fowl; or Frauds of a Feather Flock Together,” opening in October (the height of apple season).

This show, which stars Julian residents and raises money for local charities and scholarships, is (very) loosely based on the history of the mountain community.

“We aren’t afraid to poke fun at our own town and our own residents,” Green said.

Though it’s an all-volunteer, amateur performance, it does attract annual regulars from throughout San Diego, Los Angeles and even Arizona because the family-friendly play doesn’t have gore or vague endings the way modern TV shows and films do.

And no matter what, the good guy always wins.

“After the (2003) Cedar fire, when 50 percent of the community had lost or damaged homes, we still pulled together to rehearse,” Green said. “And that’s when we started laughing. The melodrama pulls us together as a community.”